Texas Cops Mow Lawn of Disabled Veteran

Another day, another uplifting law enforcement story.

Score one more for the police! We all know it’s a pain in the ass to mow the lawn, but imagine having to do it when you have no legs. That was exactly the case for one veteran, and then a couple officers decided to jump in to save the man’s day.

Two cops in Texas are being widely praised for spontaneously helping a disabled Navy veteran with his gardening. While patrolling earlier this month, Longview Police Department Officers Ron Duncan and Michael Preston spotted 57-year-old Robert Upshaw, who uses a motorized wheelchair, struggling to mow his lawn. Most people would feel bad for the guy, but keep on driving. But not these men in blue.

A neighbor snapped a photo of the officers performing their selfless good deed and sent the photographs to the pair’s supervisors. They decided to later share the picture and story to Facebook. Now, not surprisingly, that lengthy post is going viral.

In it, Sgt. Shane McCarter acknowledged that “high speed pursuits, foot chases, drug arrests and arrests of someone who needs to be taken off the streets” are when officers often gain “that feeling of exhilaration” they likely signed up for. But there are also times, he said, when “acts of kindness expose a brighter shine,” such as when strangers are in need of simpler things like “a smile” or “a window repaired…This act is not only a flicker of light in our community but a spark that is intended to reunite communities,” McCarter added.

Upshaw lost both of his legs because of a medical condition after he’d finished serving in the Navy. He told the LongviewNews–Journal he was initially surprised when the officers approached his property. “I was shocked ― that hadn’t happened before,” he said. “But I got to talk with them for a while. … They seem like real good people.”

This isn’t the first feel-good-police story that has recently gone viral, either. A few days ago, we told you about an Oklahoma officer who reported to a severe abuse call and decided to actually adopt the little boy and his newborn sister who were both a part of the a really rough family situation. Click to read that policeman’s touching story.